19th Hole: Patrick Parkins
Patrick Parkins
Superintendent, TPC Las Vegas
Patrick, my first question is always the same. After 18 holes, what are you drinking?
A Coors Light, followed by a bourbon.
Tell me about TPC Las Vegas.
It’s a pretty tight golf course. We’ve extended it a little bit in the last couple of years — we’re trying to get to right around 7,200 yards. You have to stay well-hydrated year-round because in the summertime, it’s between 100 and 120 degrees, and in the wintertime, you’re going to have 20 to 30 mph winds.
What is your favorite tool to get the job done?
I would have to say my TDR. Being out in that type of arid environment, it doesn’t matter what time of year, you have to be on top of your moisture management.
Who are your teams?
The Denver Broncos and Penn State football. That’s about all I watch.
Do you have a family, and what do you do for fun?
I have a girlfriend. She had just started to play golf when I met her, so I’m trying to get her to play a little bit more. We like to go out in the afternoons or on my weekends off and play. Other than that, hang out and have some drinks with friends and go to some sporting events and concerts.
There’s plenty to do in Las Vegas, but what would you recommend?
You can never go wrong with the steak houses there. But right now, the biggest attraction is the Sphere.
Do you have a most memorable day at work?
The ’22 overseed. We were 13 holes into an overseed, and a monsoon came through and dumped about two-and-a-half inches of rain in 30 minutes. It washed a little bit of seed away, but most of it stuck on the ground. It destroyed three cart paths and broke a bunch of main lines, of course in the middle of overseed. I needed to make sure that we could get water back to the golf course as quickly as possible. We were able to get all the repairs done and cart paths fixed within a couple of weeks, but I had water back on in about three days. I was able to keep the grass and really had one of my best overseeds in my career.
Were you on the course when it hit?
I was at home — I live on the golf course on the eighth fairway, and I was doing a fantasy football draft. The rain just started coming, and I looked out. We have an arroyo right there, and it was raging. I said, “This isn’t good!”
How did your draft go?
I quit, put it on auto-draft and ended up winning the league that year. So maybe that’s the way to do it!
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